Mr. Bad Influence

Chapter 12 - Part 2

With a hot Americano in hand, Nick got out of the car and strode over to Pastor Jay's car. He opened the driver-side door and asked, "How long will the lecture be?"

Pastor Jay looked up from his phone.

"I got her a hot green tea latte. If it's going to take a while, then I'll give it to her first."

"Five minutes."

Nick went around the car and got in. "Here." He handed Pastor Jay the cup. "Thought you might stay around."

"This isn't about the promise I asked you to make."

Then he had completely wasted his time thinking about how he should justify why there was nothing wrong with hanging out with Kerri. "Then what do you want to lecture me about?"

"Is that all I do?"

Nick laughed. "Did I hurt your feelings?"

"I now know why you didn't want to move."

Nick looked at Pastor Jay and arched his brow. "What do you mean?"

"When you were out of rehab, I suggested you move to another place. That way, you wouldn't have to stay in a place that reminded you of your drug use. But you gave me all sorts of excuses."

"They weren't excuses. It's troublesome to find a place and to move my things."

"Kerri paid someone to do that. I'm sure you can, too."

"Yeah ... but—"

"But you got this place because of Kerri, and she picked out most of the stuff."

Nick looked ahead, not saying a word.

"Is that why you never brought any of your girlfriends back here? This is still a place for you and Kerri, isn't it?"

"I've never taken drugs at home."

Pastor Jay's brows drew together, and he narrowed his eyes, studying his face.

"I've never brought drugs back here," Nick said and looked over at his house. At first, it was to make sure that Kerri didn't find out about his drug habit. But even after their breakup, no matter how much he craved the drug, he never allowed himself to take it at home. It didn't feel right to snort coke in a place that somewhat belonged to Kerri as well.

"It was tough to come back to this place after the car accident." Every room and item reminded him of Kerri. "But it didn't remind me of my drug use."

Silence took over the next minute.

"What's wrong with Kerri?" Pastor Jay asked, breaking the silence.

"I don't know."

Pastor Jay stared at him for a moment before narrowing his eyes.

"I'm serious. She turned up, all upset, but she didn't tell me what happened. I asked, but she didn't want to talk about it." Actually she said she couldn't talk about it.

Nick wasn't sure if he should tell Pastor Jay about that. He trusted Pastor Jay with his life. If he had any problem and needed advice, he would go to him. But Pastor Jay was rather close to Kerri's parents as well. "I'm worried about her."

Pastor Jay scrutinized his face, seemingly looking for some sort of clue. "Do you think she's in trouble?"

Yes.

"This was what I didn't like about the two of you," Pastor Jay said when he didn't reply. "You and Kerri hide in this world of your own. The two of you relied on each other so much. You drew so much from each other. You can't do that. That was why you guys became toxic to each other."

"I get it." Nick looked away from him and opened the car door. "I'll keep Jesus between us."

"Nick—"

"I get it. I'm not being sarcastic," he said with one of his feet on the road. The last thing he wanted was for him and Kerri to become toxic to each other again. "If either of us needs help, I'll call you."

"I'll hold you to your word."

He nodded. "I should go. Her latte is getting cold."

"And Nick."

He stopped and looked back at Pastor Jay.

"You may have forgotten, but you do have a girlfriend. Her name is Hannah, or so the magazine says."

"She's not my girlfriend." He closed the door and strode back to his house.

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